Blogs from Nizwa, Dakhliya, Oman, Middle East
November 20th 2010
I smelled it before I saw it, the sharp scent of smoldering charcoal mixed with something I couldn’t quite put my finger on – though it was familiar. I followed my nose down a narrow backstreet in Nizwa, finding a crowd massed around an enormous, stone-lined pit. The men were heaving large, charred lumps out of the pit and into wheelbarrows waiting at ground level. On closer inspection, the lumps seemed to be blackened burlap sacks, but I was still mystified by what they contained. A number of men in this early morning huddle (it was barely 7am) noticed the gawking foreigner and waved me to the front for a better view. One broke a big smile and asked: “You want meat?” Suddenly it all made sense. And I could pin point the elusive smell: barbecue! ... read more
December 22nd 2009
Area: Hajjar Mountains around and on Jebel Shams - The highest mountains in Oman and this region standing tall at just over 3000 meters above sea level. Wadis covered are Bani Awf and Sahtan. Travel Month: Dec 2009 Country: Sultanate of Oman Total Days: 5 Days Attractions: Complete Offroad Experience!! Far off villages, very steep dirt track driving, and mountains. Total Distance Covered: 1200 Kilometers Total No. of Vehicles: 5 with five families Travelogue: DAY 1 Wadis in Hajjar Mountains were on the list this time around. Due to Eid holidays we were able to make a 5 days trip to cover. We planned to enter into Oman from the Hatta border and early in the morning to avoid the holiday rush that will be nasty to spend a few hours at the border checkpost, however ... read more
April 10th 2009
Not far from Dubai lies Oman, and in Dubai lives my sister with her family and for this reason I find myself writing about a little camping trip that she took me on. Six Arabian nights we spend under the moon of Oman, and in doing so I discovered what beauty is hidden away in the folds of the Hajar Mountains of this country. Now camping with a family is of course different than camping with friends, but my nephew Teagan of five and my niece Zara of three behaved very well considering the amount of driving and hiking they were put through. Of course there was the usual fighting, bickering and crying, but on the whole I can say that they kept themselves very good and I think they enjoyed it as much as the ... read more
Nizwa, Ibri and Oman's desert interior
Published: April 9th 2009Middle East » Oman » Dakhliya » Nizwa
March 25th 2009
Unfortunately the photos for this entry have been lost due to a technical glitch at Travelblog. I will get around to reloading them soon! We left Muscat behind and battled the traffic until we got past Seeb International Airport. Then it was plain sailing and we continued on towards Nizwa with very few other cars on the road. There wasn't much to see on the way and the one thing we tried to, we couldn't find! Therefore we found ourselves in a seemingly deserted Nizwa in time for lunch. We ate in a cheap biriyani restaurant where the food was good, but we had to sit in a side room. Such is life in some Omani restaurants when there are women in your group! Strangely though, there was only one toilet which it was fine to ... read more
April 29th 2008
Nizwa - the interior city. Nizwa (Arabic: نزوى) is the largest city in the Ad Dakhiliyah Region in Oman and was the capital of Oman proper. Nizwa is about 140 km (1.5 hours) from Muscat. The population is estimated at around 70,000 people. Set amid a verdant spread of date palms, it is strategically located at the crossroads of routes linking the interior with Muscat. Nizwa is a center for date growing. Dates from Nizwa (including Khalas and are known to be the best dates in the world). The main tourist attractions in the city are Nizwa Fort and the traditional Souq. The main bulk of the fort, built in the 1650's took about 12 years to complete and was built above an underground stream. The main part of the fort is its enormous drum-like tower ... read more
April 28th 2008
Wadi Shab 'Wadi' means 'dry river bed' (Wadi Shab is actually a wet river bed, a beautiful emerald green oasis in the desert). Wadi Shab is wadi in Oman and located between the capital Muscat and the town Sur, Oman. It has at least seven pools of emerald green water and is studded with boulders. One of the pools is in a cave where light streams in dramatically from above and there are fantastic echoes heard when one swims in it. Eventhough all guidebooks say you need a 4WD to get there...you can easily reach it in a regular car...thanks to the backbreaking road-construction (courtesy of practically free labor from India/Pakistan/Afghanistan). These workers situation is so bad, and the government does not do anything to alleviate the situation. Most of these workers flock from the subcontinent ... read more
April 8th 2008
Driving tips for Oman: 1) Beware the rotaries. Arabs love rotaries. I don't think I saw a single stop light in Oman outside of Muscat. The only rule in a rotary is if you are in it, you have right-of-way. But you can change lanes in a rotary at a moment's whim and you can exit from any lane, which gets really interesting in a 3 and 4 lane rotary. 2) Beware the goats and camels. Goats seem to think that "pavement" means stop and look for the best grass for a while. Camels are deaf to honking. Goats occasionally will respond. 3) All stop signs point at 90 degrees to the intended stop lane. Therefore they must be ignored. 4) Don't rent a small car. The bigger your car, the more you can ignore the ... read more
December 29th 2007
This had to be one of our most boring days on the road so far. We set off from Sur early in the morning again, after a lovely complimentary breakfast at the hotel. Mum and dad spied some packed lunches being made and decided that it would be a great idea to get some of those for the trip as we weren’t so sure how long we would be on the road today. However I declined the honour of one of these lunches, quite rightly assuming that it wouldn’t really be to my liking. Our travels today took us only on tar sealed roads, and after the adventures of the day before it really was totally boring. But would you believe that Pa Ade still complained about the bumpiness of the road, and how it was ... read more
February 4th 2007
Day 4: We had a bit of a lie in before heading off on a tour in our own car. We went to another town called Nizwa we stopped at the big mosque on route in Mascat. It was very beautiful inside, the dome was coloured and the Mihrab was very impressive. We continued on our journey arriving in Nizwa around an hour later at the souk for some shopping where I bought some postcards. The ‘old’ souk was made out of mud and palm leaves and was much nicer than the newer bit, There were several sections, fruit and veg, spices, tourist stuff and fish. We then looked at Nizwa Fort an old Fort which had great views from the top. After further driving we arrived in Barhla, a town famous for pottery and looked ... read more
August 22nd 2006
This is an amazing canyon, some 3000 meters high. Access to it was through a 1.5 hours drive on bumpy roads into and up Wadi Ghul, with a 4WD. All the efforts were worthwhile once I got on top of the mountains, where I don't think words or even the photos could describe its beauty wholly. It is just a spectacular place one should not miss when visiting Oman. Just one thing to note: it could be quite dangerous on the edges of the cliff, as, if one is not careful enough, you or your vehicle could fall down 3000 meters unnoticed. Better go there with a local driver. There is place to stay on top of the Jebel but it is the most basic accommodation. I was based in Nizwa instead, which is an oasis ... read more
